These are the most affordable American cities on a six-figure salary

The coasts are not affordable for the average two-salary household

A six-figure salary doesn’t guarantee financial stability in these cities.

The average annual salary in the U.S. is around $50,000, but even families making double that can find it hard to scrape by in some cities.

In many metropolitan areas, a two-earner household with one child and two adults would be just getting by on a gross annual income of $100,000 and a monthly budget of $8,333, according to a report released this week by financial information website MagnifyMoney. The average household spends 75% of take-home pay on monthly expenses, the survey found, including taxes, housing and transportation. But households in almost 20% of metropolitan areas spend more than that. In 11 of the 381 cities analyzed, 90% of monthly income went to basic monthly expenses.

A family earning $100,000 and living in Washington, D.C. would actually be $315 in debt each month after factoring in basic expenses. California was the worst state for six-figure families, with nine out of the top 20 worst cities, including San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz, and Napa.

One of the biggest drags on monthly budgets nationwide was housing costs, with 17% of six-figure households spending more than one-quarter of their monthly income on housing. In 18 out of 381 cities, people spend more than one-third of their monthly income on housing. With child-care costs rising rapidly, families making six figures are spending 10% or more on child care in 161 cities surveyed, or 42% of all metro areas.

To make the most out of a six-figure salary, move to the South, the survey found. In the Southeast and Southwest, families spent less than the national average — 70% — of their monthly pay on basic expenses. Tennessee was the best state out of these, with the three best cities for six-figure households overall. The coasts tied as the worst places to live among five regions. In both the Northeast and the West, families spend an average of 80% of monthly income on expenses. An earlier analysis showed a family making $500,000 in New York City could still be sliding into the red each month after covering basic expenses.